Assembly politicians have salaries slashed by £14,000

Assembly politicians have salaries slashed by £14,000

Stormont Assembly members’ pay will be slashed by almost £14,000 as the UK government announced renewed efforts to restore devolved power-sharing between the warring political parties.

The British government’s Northern Ireland Secretary, Karen Bradley, imposed the salary cut with the Assembly in cold-storage for a record-breaking 20 months.

Politicians will see their salaries decrease from £49,500 to £35,888 in two stages, beginning in November, with a further cut three months later.

The legislature in Belfast has not sat since early last year in a row over identity issues like the Irish language.

Repeated negotiations convened by the British and Irish governments have failed to reconcile the DUP and Sinn Féin, to reconcile, their differences, but fresh talks are due within weeks.

Thousands recently took to the streets across Northern Ireland in social media-inspired rallies to say they deserved better from their political leaders, while the business community and the judiciary have also expressed frustration at the impasse.